Part of lost continent found under Canada

Baffin Island in northern Canada is known for its stunning mountains and glaciers and it's where scientists uncovered the evidence of a continent hiding in rocks that were formed in Earth's interior. (Source: CNN)

March 31, 2020 at 2:35 PM CDT - Updated March 31 at 2:35 PM

(CNN) - Diamonds helped scientists discover a piece of a lost continent.

Baffin Island in northern Canada is known for its stunning mountains and glaciers and it's where scientists uncovered the evidence of a continent hiding in rocks that were formed in Earth's interior, where diamonds form 250 miles below the surface.

A diamond mining company made the discovery, but when scientists looked into it, they realized the mineral chemistry was a tiny piece of history around 3 billion years old from one of the planet's first continents called the North Atlantic Craton.

Over millennia, the craton split into pieces. Part of it makes up portions of Scotland, Greenland and Labrador.

This new piece in Canada is a new piece of the puzzle for scientists trying to learn about Earth’s distant past.